The present invention relates to a compression supporting package divider set, particularly for use in corrugated paperboard packaging systems.
Economical packaging systems for shipping multiple articles in a shipping container often make use of corrugated paperboard divider sets to partition the shipping container into individual compartments for separating the articles. Typically, the dividers are slotted and interlock with one another to provide interior cells and periphery cells, where the interior cells are bound on all sides by the dividers, but where the periphery cells are open at sides thereof that are adjacent the walls of the container. For example, a nine-cell divider set is typically formed by two parallel dividers oriented in one direction and two parallel dividers oriented in the perpendicular direction. Only one of the nine cells is an interior cell bound on all sides by the four dividers. Four of the remaining eight cells are corner cells bound on two sides by a respective intersecting pair of walls of the shipping container, and the remaining four of the eight cells are bound on one side by a respective wall of the shipping container. Each of the four dividers has two ends for a total of eight ends corresponding to the eight periphery cells.
While economical, the divider set is weak at the ends of the dividers with respect to compressive forces tending to buckle the dividers. Additional dividers could be provided at the ends of the existing dividers to support the ends, adjacent the walls of the shipping container, but this increases material as well as manufacturing and assembly labor costs.
A straight-forward and economical solution to the problem is simply to bend the dividers 90 degrees at the ends, to provide a flanged supporting portion that distributes compression stress over a plane as opposed to a line. A problem with this approach is that such a supporting portion can only be provided on one side of the divider. Any stress tending to bend the divider away from the supporting portion, in the other direction, remains unsupported.
Another approach to the problem is to bend the dividers 180 degrees at their ends, to stiffen the dividers at the ends against buckling. A problem with this approach is that the desired degree of stiffening may not be obtainable from the material used for the dividers unless multiple bends are made, which again add material, manufacturing and labor costs. Stiffening the dividers against buckling by making them thicker is inherently a less efficient means for strengthening the structure than providing the structure with flanges that extend the area over which the structure is supported. The difference may be appreciated by comparing the stiffness of an I-beam with that of a cylindrical rod having the same amount of material.
Accordingly, there is a need for a compression supporting package divider set that provides for increasing the strength of the dividers at unsupported ends at the lowest cost.
Disclosed is a compression supporting package divider set. Within the scope of the invention, there is a divider having an upper edge and a spaced-apart lower edge, the upper and lower edges being connected by a side edge forming an end of the divider. A cut line extends from one of the upper and lower edges to an interior point of the divider spaced from the upper and lower edges and from the side edge. A fold line for folding the divider defines an axis of rotation intersecting the upper and lower edges and terminates at the interior point. The fold line is provided such that a first side flange portion of the divider defined between the cut line and the axis of rotation rotates about the axis together with a second side flange portion of the divider defined between the fold line and the side edge, thereby causing the first and second side flange portions to extend on opposite sides of the divider.
Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a novel and improved compression supporting package divider set.